Spring suspension for vehicles



Jan. 3, 1928. 1,655,227

H. W. HYDE SPRING SUSPENSION FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 15, 1925PatentedJan. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,655,227 PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY WEBB HYDE, OF NORTH COHASSET, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HYDE EN-GINEERING COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORELTIGN OF IYIASSA-CHUSETTS.

Application filed January This invention relates to vehicle springsuspensions of the general type shown and described in my priorapplication for Letters Patent, filed September 29, 1921, Serial No.504,160, and terminating in Patent No. 1,524,437 of which the presentcase is a continuation in part and with respectto such subject matter asit has in common therewith. p

As explained in said prior application, the invention therein shownconsists primarily in providing the vehicle with longitudinal springs orspring reaches connected at their ends, either directly or indirectly,with the axles, and in supporting the body on the spring reachesintermediate the ends of the latter in such a manner as to permit saidbody to rock freely, with respect to and independently of the reaches,upon a hOIlzontal, transverse axis, so that tilting or rocking of thereaches, caused by a vertical movement of either the front or rearwheels and the axle carried thereby, will not be transmitted to the bodyand will not tend to tip or pitch the same, said body being permitted,by rocking abont its axis with respect to the reaches, to maintain 1tssubstantially horizontal position, its only movement being a slightvertical one in a substantially rectilinear direction.

The present case relates to aform of spring suspension of the t pe abovereferred to, wherein resilient portions of the spring reaches areextended beyond the axles and are connected at their outer ends with theends of the body to form balancing springs for the latter. In accordancewith the preferred form of the invention, this arrangement is employedat both ends of the suspension, thereby providing, in a simpleconstruction employing a minimum number of parts, balancing springs forboth ends of the vehicle in accordance with the general principlesexplained in another application, filed April 28, 1924, Serial N 0.708,430.

The more particular objects of the invention, together with meanswhereby the same may be carried into effect, will best be understoodfrom the following description of certain forms or embodiments thereofillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood,however, that the particular constructions described and shown have beenchosen for illustrative purposes merely, and that the invention, asdefined SPRING SUSl PENSION FOR VEHICLES.

15, 1925. Serial No. 2,636.

by the claims hereunto appended, may be otherwise practised withoutdeparture from its spirit and scope.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spring suspension constructed inaccordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof, certain parts being partly broken away inorder to illustrate the construction more clearly.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modification.

The principle of operation of a spring suspension of the general type ofthat to which the present case relates is fully explained in my priorapplication, Serial No. 504,160 which terminated in Patent No. 1,-524,437. Forthe purposes of the present description this principle maybe briefly outlined as follows:

In the ordinary vehicle, Whether provided with elliptical,semi-elliptical, or cantilever springs, the springs are. in effect,rigidly secured to the body or frame, and any shock or blow on a wheel,due to unevenness in the road, which causes the wheel to rise or fallsuddenly, is communicated directly to the body.

In the type of spring suspension to which the present invention relates,on the contrary, if the front wheel, for example, be raised, owing to anunevenness in the road, the tendency is for the spring reach to turnabout the pivot afforded by the rocker on which the body .is supported,but not to rock the body. It thus tends to swing the rear end of thereach and rear axle downward about the pivot, so that the chief effectof the blow is absorbed by the rear spring and pneumatic tire on therear wheel. Likewise, when the rear wheel goes over an obstruction ordrops into a hole, the front spring member and front wheel receive themajor part of the reaction and the body is affected relatively little,In any event, any vertical force, or the resultant of such verticalforces as may be transmitted to the body as a result of the rocking ofthe reaches, is applied to the body at the center of gravity thereof, sothat there is no gyratory force acting upon the body eccentric to itscenter of gravity. The effect on the body is merely to lift the pivot,and consequently the body, vertically to a slight extent, and not torock said body from front to front of the center of gravity of the body,and the front and rear constructions being otherwise transposed in bothforms. These and other modifications of the constructions shown will,however, be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without furtherdescription in detail.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a vehicle having a body and axles, a spring suspension comprisinga pair of spring reaches connected with the axles and a connectionbetween said reaches and the body upon which the latter is free to rockwith respect to the former, said reaches having, at both ends of thevehicle, extensions connected at their ends with the body to constitutebalancing springs.

2. In a vehicle having a body and axles, a spring suspension comprisinga pair of spring reaches connected with the axles and a connectionbetween said reaches and the body upon which the latter is free to rockwith respect to the former, said reaches each having portions composedof a plurality of leaves, at least one leaf of each reach being extendedbeyond the others and connected at its end with the body to constitute abalancing spring.

3. In a vehicle having a body and axles,

a spring suspension comprising a pair of spring reaches connected withthe axles and a connection between said reaches and the bodyupon whichthe latter is free to rock with respect. to the former, said reacheseach having portions composed of a plurality of leaves, one leaf at eachend of each reach being extended beyond the adjacent axle and connectedat its end with the body to constitute a balancing spring.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRY WEBB HYDE.

